More tips for encouraging reading for pleasure in your school

Published on: 05 September 2024

Farshore ran a Reading for Pleasure award for teachers – and the entries were incredibly impressive.

Eight schools were chosen as worthy winners. There were some similar themes between them, such as getting the teachers reading, letting children choose books for themselves and encouraging book 'blether', and some stunningly original ideas.

Here are four interesting projects from the winners, to inspire and delight! (They all had more ideas, but there is only space to showcase one each.)

Check out the previous four here

Hosting a book festival

Simon Pollard, Carclaze Community Primary School, St Austell, Cornwall

Aim: Making strong connections between children's home and school reading worlds, knowing that reading for pleasure is a highly social process and that young readers are nurtured through their involvement in richly reciprocal communities of readers.

How I did this: We created a local book festival, underpinned by reading pedagogies. We hosted 16 events across four venues for a range of ages. I used my knowledge of children's authors to ensure a diverse selection appeared. I fostered informal book talk and inside text talk alongside the events.

We reached out to families in other local schools to share the information, and relied on volunteers helping on the day. A writing competition also helped generate interest. Posters and an adventure trail around the town raised the profile in the community, and we also used social media to publicise it.

It was essential to us that the festival was affordable to all families, and we agreed to charge £1 a ticket to get commitment from families that they would attend. We secured small local grants as well. Our mission of supporting all children to develop a love of reading and developing a reading community held media attention as it was not just a literature festival.

Impact

• 800 individuals attended the festival, which included families representing more than 20 primary schools
• Feedback showed children came to school following the festival and recommended books to their peers and teachers
• Children directed their families to the authors they wanted to see
• Children were very clear in the festival bookshop about what made a good book for them. One child said that it was like Christmas and their birthday had come all at once.
• Parents are choosing to read books they previously regarded as 'children's books'.

Celebrating diversity through books

Charlotte Squirrell, Morgan's C of E Primary Academy, Norfolk

Aim: To create a child-led reading community, with an emphasis on books by a diverse range of authors.

How I did this: I involved the children themselves. I spoke to the children in my class about how they could share their knowledge of books that reflect the diversity of our society, as they already understood their importance. They had many suggestions including:

• a book recommendations shelf in the library
• leading story time with other classes in EYFS and KS1
• making a video of popular books to share with parents
• special assemblies about books that would be led by the children
• recommendations in celebration assembly on Fridays (with support from the Reading Champions)
• making posters to put up around the school recommending different authors and poets
• The children took ownership of this project and implemented their ideas

Impact

As the project developed and grew over time, more children wanted to take part and organise and lead activities across the school. In addition to this, an increased amount of book talk has been heard throughout the school, most significantly between children from different classes and key stages. I have spoken to class teachers about books they are reading with their class to ensure a wide range of books is being read.

Making time to read for pleasure

Henrietta Englefield, Colfe's School, London

Aim: Ensure all students in Years 7-9 have timetabled space to read for pleasure, with a focus on independent choice.

How I did this

• Independent choice: Students are encouraged to choose books themselves. Time-limited reading challenges (Round the World, Through Time and multi-genre) direct students to read and review books from identified regions, periods, and genres, but there is huge scope for choice within each category, with the intention of introducing students to books/authors they might otherwise not encounter, whilst maintaining freedom of selection.
• Take reading beyond the library: Year 7 students choose a BookTrust Bookbuzz book to keep. Pop-up libraries are provided on residential trips. I instigated a whole school Day of Reading, with students and teachers reading together at the start of every lesson, which was very popular.

• Involve all staff and model reading for pleasure: Many departments display suggested books, and staff recommend books personally. English and library staff regularly read alongside students. We have grab-and-go reading for pleasure books in the staff room. As librarian, I read aloud in some library lessons, to entice students to borrow books and to illustrate (for example) why a book should not be judged by its cover.

Impact

Day of Reading survey feedback showed that 66% of the 292 students who responded wanted to repeat this experience, with another 20% saying "Maybe". 100% of responding teachers were in favour. 89% described the effect on classes as positive or transformational.

And library loans doubled. Students who love to read for pleasure dominate lists of academic prize winners and consistently score highly in public exams. They are also characteristically empathetic, although this cannot be formally assessed.

Fostering book chat with children and families

Kathryn Handley, The Sir Donald Bailey Academy, Newark, Nottinghamshire

Aim: Developing reading for pleasure by modelling desired behaviour

How I did this: I ask children to share what they are reading or tell them about something I have enjoyed. Peer-to-peer recommendation has been key to our success. Demonstrating my love for books and sharing those I have read has also contributed to a change in culture. Teachers use this opportunity to learn about new titles, build relationships, and relax with a book in the same way the children do.

I host a weekly Reading Café and regularly invite each year group and their parents to attend. This gives me an opportunity to share the reading for pleasure message not just with the children, but with the wider school community. I take the opportunity to talk with parents about book blether, choice and how they can support their child's reading at home.

Sessions are well attended by parents, who are encouraged to value and celebrate all types of reading that their children undertake. At the end of the session, I enthusiastically share a story that I love, demonstrating to parents what we do in school. They can view examples of intonation, character voices, suspense, pupil engagement, and understanding of the story.

A Year 3 pupil's feedback was: "I had so much fun and loved your story and listening to my friend read."

Impact

Many teachers are moving away from reward-based reading incentives and are adopting the social, relaxed reading strategies implemented in the library. The children love to 'read their way' and reading is often used as a reward.

Many children come to chat about their reading choices and share how they are feeling. This has led to an increased understanding of our pupils' needs. The profile and importance of reading has been raised with pupils, parents, and carers and continues to be reinforced daily.

Many children have found a renewed joy in reading. Teachers have fed back that they can now hear informal book talk in their classrooms. There is excitement around reading across our school from Pre-school to Year 6. Some children with no support at home are becoming intrinsically motivated to regularly read something of their choice.

Find more ideas from the Farshore Reading for Pleasure Awards